If you are a ballet aficionado, the title of this blog says it all. For those of you who think ballet is (a) boring, (b) a stupid waste of time or (c) are Neanderthals, there are no pictures with this one, so you can just go back to watching "My Mother is a Car" re-runs. OK, now that THOSE PEOPLE are gone, this was the most wonderful rendition of Swan Lake that I've ever seen. First, the theater is wonderfully suited to ballet. The stage is deep which allows the staging to be more creative. The sets were haunting and creative, and the costuming comfortingly expected. It was a full orchestra complete with harp. Our seats were first row mezzanine - our favorite spot in any theater to watch ballet performances.
However good the sets and costuming are, it always comes back to the dancing. Last night Jose Manuel Carreno was the male lead, playing the Prince. Here's irony for you: Drake and I went to one performance of the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi in 1990 - the 'encore' performance of the medalists. Guess who won the male Gold Medal that year: Jose Manuel Carreno. We knew he was amazing then, and he's been a ballet superstar for the past 16 years. This is his retirement year with ABT. He's leaving performance to teach. He joined the ABT as a Principal in 1995. It was really wonderful to see him dance again. We've talked about him for years, and it was his stand-out performance at that competition that inspired us to vow our return and see the entire competition in Jackson. We fulfilled that dream last summer. Truthfully, though, the role of the Prince is secondary to the role of Odette/Odile, and now matter how great HE is, the ballet is judged by her performance.
Since even casual followers of the ballet have seen Swan Lake, the Odette role is often the role that defines a ballerina for the ballet goer. A prima can be fabulous in every other role she undertakes, but if her Swan Lake is forgettable, so is she in the eyes of many ballet fans. I've seen Swan Lake at least five times. I've seen it done multiple times by the Houston Ballet (which is usually ranked about the 4th best ballet company in the United States). I've seen it done by the Fort Worth/Dallas Ballet at least twice. The last time was so disappointing (they used CANNED MUSIC instead of live) that we stopped going to see that ballet company.
Three of those performances (not including last night's) were breathtaking. I got to see Janie Parker, the diva of the Houston Ballet, and the first American woman to win a Gold Medal at the International Ballet Competition do the Odette/Odile role at the absolute pinnacle of her career. I've also gotten to see Martha Butler, another Gold Medalist, do the role once. Frankly, I never thought I'd ever see any better Swan Lake performances by a prima ballerina.
Well, I was wrong. The ABT principal, Irina Dvorovenko's performance topped them all. Drake argued that Janie Parker's acting ability as Odile the seductress was better, but Irina's total mastery of her body was jaw dropping. She seems to control every single muscle in her body. That physical control allows her to express nuance and artistry with her every move. Her control makes all the difficult choreography of the role seem effortless. 32 fouettes as Odile? No problem. The 32nd was as superbly executed as the first. During the pas de deux, her leg never drops an inch, there are no wobbles, no swift arm movement to re-grab her partner to stabilize herself. Every position is classic - almost as if she's giving a textbook demonstration of the 'moves'. He spins are timed perfectly to the music. Sarah and I both marveled at her flexibility.
She was completely backed by a company that performed not just technically flawless (which they were), but I BELIEVED that I was seeing a flock of swans. That has never really happened before. I always marveled at the synchronicity of the ballet dancers of the earlier performances, but the ABT ballet company transcended technique. They were swans.
The jury is in: New York City owns the ballet. We were privileged to see the two best ballet companies in the world. We saw the New York City company do a Balanchine contemporary full length ballet with no story - my favorite kind of ballet, and it was outstanding. Then, we had the joy of seeing THE ballet, "Swan Lake", in a beautiful theater, danced by the best dancers in the world to live music. Yesterday evening was a crescendo to our New York City trip. And the whipped cream? I got to experience yesterday evening's ballet sitting next to Sarah. This is a special memory that the three of us will always share, and we got the further thrill of watching Jay enjoy Swan Lake for the first time. It was a magic evening.
Today we went to see the Guggenheim Museum, and I felt like I got ripped off. They have installed an artist called Ufan Lee in 90% of the museum, and even I couldn't be convinced that a piece of rock laying on the floor is art. (Yes, that presentation was actually 'several' of his pieces of art.) Drake's only comment was that at least he chose nice rocks. The building was great. We got to see some wonderful pieces by Kandinsky - only about 10. They had a smattering of other pieces from their collection. Mr. Lee is apparently a very famous Korean artist. However, as much as I looked at 6 levels up a spiral of his work, I just couldn't fathom it. If it wasn't for the building, I would have to say the trip to the Guggenheim was a waste of time.
We finished up today with a great Szechuan meal at the Chinatown Brasserie, a restaurant in NoHo (means north of Houston street) that Jay and Sarah tipped us off to. Tomorrow is packing day, but we are going to try and see one more show tomorrow night before we take off on Thursday morning for New Hampshire. When I get settled into New Hampshire, I think I'll write the difficult blog - reflections on a month in New York City. What I termed to Jay as "Uber Vacation" is almost over. I do want to think about what it's really been like to blitz this city.
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